Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote this tale of confused identity and royal intrigue in 1914 and 1915, as World War I was getting ready to happen: it means to be an homage to Anthony Hope's _Prisoner of Zenda._ But, of course, it isn't Hope writing, but Burroughs: the events that led to the war inform the book, and it speaks to the real events happening as Burroughs wrote. That makes it a very different story from Hope's almost-whimsical novel. Part of the reason Burroughs left such a lasting mark on the world is because he was engaged in the events that surrounded him; the news troubled him deeply and personally. As well it might! He was writing, as he always did, on fantastical topics; but it is the fantastic nature of the twentieth century that is the real text of the man's career. The events that shape our own times now inform the work at hand: Edgar Rice Burroughs is generally described as a "Pulp Writer" -- that's code for a successful hack -- but the truth is that he was much, much more.
Year of the Mad King: The Lear Diaries, is Antony Sher's account of researching, rehearsing and performing one of Shakespeare's greatest roles: King Lear. His honest, illuminating and witty commentary provides an intimate, first-hand look at the development of his Lear and the production as a whole. Also included are a selection of his paintings and sketches, many reproduced in full color.
The legendary magician Merlin works to unlock the secrets of his past and his future destiny in this fantasy adventure. “Everyone seems to know me. After fifteen hundred years, they remember me. Everyone knows Merlin. I am, of course, delighted . . . “This is the story of King Arthur and mad Merlin . . . ” In the tradition of The Mists of Avalon and Mythago Wood, J. Robert King weaves an epic tale of Avalon, Excalibur, the Once and Future King, and the mad magician Merlin as he draws on the ideas and writings of Joseph Campbell to shape and interpret the legendary Arthurian mythos. “A nicely written and engaging perspective on the wizard’s actual identity, the book’s sad in spots, funny in others and a worthwhile read.” —San Diego Union-Tribune
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • THE BOOK BEHIND THE FIFTH SEASON OF THE ACCLAIMED HBO SERIES GAME OF THRONES Don’t miss the thrilling sneak peek of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Six, The Winds of Winter Dubbed “the American Tolkien” by Time magazine, George R. R. Martin has earned international acclaim for his monumental cycle of epic fantasy. Now the #1 New York Times bestselling author delivers the fifth book in his landmark series—as both familiar faces and surprising new forces vie for a foothold in a fragmented empire. A DANCE WITH DRAGONS In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance—beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind. Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys’s claim to Westeros forever. Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone—a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice. From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all. Praise for A Dance with Dragons “Filled with vividly rendered set pieces, unexpected turnings, assorted cliffhangers and moments of appalling cruelty, A Dance with Dragons is epic fantasy as it should be written: passionate, compelling, convincingly detailed and thoroughly imagined.”—The Washington Post “Long live George Martin . . . a literary dervish, enthralled by complicated characters and vivid language, and bursting with the wild vision of the very best tale tellers.”—The New York Times
The sixth book in George R. R. Martin's critically acclaimed, world wide best-selling series A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE - the inspiration behind HBO's GAME OF THRONES. 'An absorbing, exciting read ... Martin's style is so vivid that you will be hooked within a few pages' The Times
NOW THE ACCLAIMED HBO SERIES GAME OF THRONES—THE MASTERPIECE THAT BECAME A CULTURAL PHENOMENON Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King’s Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert’s name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse—unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season. Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vainglorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen’s brothers Jaime and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister—the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind. All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms. Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki—whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innocent sister, Daenerys.
30 years into his reign, the King of England starts to go a little mad; his court hires a new, radical doctor to try to cure him, but what he really needs in the love of a good queen.
Berg, Hohenschwangau Castle, and Linderhof were jewels, but his crowning achievement, Neuschwanstein, rivaled any other on the continent, a monumental creation second only to the Hermitage.
Literary Criticism. Art Criticism. DECOMPOSITIONS collects Eric Basso's essay on art and literature in one volume. In the pivotal essay "Annihilation," Basso takes a short story by a forgotten Hungarian writer as the springboard to a searing dissection of Rembrandt, alchemy, Stephane Mallarme, Edgar Allan Poe and Rene Daumal, closing with a new interpretation of Kafka's The Castle. Eric Basso "remains one of the most interesting writers in the country, someone whose work does not fit conveniently into categories.but whose poetry, fiction and dramatic writing extend our sense of what terms like modernism and postmodernism mean"-Stephen-Paul Martin.
